‘Just that,’ said Ben. ‘What else?’
‘Look, Ben,’ said Ian, ‘I’m used to Libby being a nuisance, but not you. You’re usually the sensible one.’
‘Oh, all right,’ said Libby. ‘We just didn’t want to put something into your minds if you hadn’t thought of it yourselves.’
Ian sighed. ‘Like the fact that the body could be that of Shareen Wallis?’
They both looked shamefaced.
‘So what do you know about that?’
‘John Newman told us about the party he took Colin to,’ said Ben.
‘And it was after that party that the girl disappeared,’ said Libby. ‘But John brought Colin back here. Unless he brought the girl back, too, how could Colin have had anything to do with her being here?’
‘Well, if it is her, and it isn’t confirmed yet, she got here somehow, didn’t she?’ said Ian. ‘Is that all you know?’
‘I thought that was all there is to know,’ said Libby. ‘Jane said -’
‘Oh, so you’ve been digging, then?’ Ian frowned at her.
‘I only asked Jane! And she wasn’t around then, but she said one of the old reporters often spoke about it.’
‘And no trace was ever found,’ said Ben.
‘If she was stashed away underground here, that isn’t surprising.’ Ian scowled at the floor. ‘All right, go and take Mrs Mardle home. I know how to find you if I need any more.’
‘Will we see you tonight?’ asked Libby.
‘Under the circumstances, I don’t think so,’ said Ian with a grim smile.
‘Oh, dear,’ whispered Libby, as they watched him walk away. ‘I don’t think we’re popular.’
They took Mrs Mardle home, agreeing when she said how nice the young lady had been, and it wasn’t a bit like the telly.
‘When will Colin come back?’ she asked as she let herself into number sixteen. ‘Will he phone me?’
‘We’ll ask him when we see him,’ said Libby. ‘I’ll let you know.’
‘Phew!’ she said to Ben as he closed their front door behind him. ‘I didn’t know what to say.’
‘No.’ Ben came into the front room, frowning. ‘I don’t know what to think, either.’
‘About Colin?’
‘Well, of course about Colin. Have we been wrong about him?’
Libby stopped on her way to the kitchen and turned round, aghast.
‘You mean could he have done it?’
‘We have rather taken him on trust, haven’t we? From having been so suspicious before we met him.’
‘But he couldn’t have done it!’ said Libby. ‘How could he?’
‘He could have gone back to that party after John brought him home,’ said Ben.
‘But why? What for? He’s gay, for heaven’s sake! What would he want with that girl?’
Ben shook his head and sighed. ‘Oh, I don’t know. But the body’s in his house.’
‘And what about young Ossie Whitelaw?’ Libby went on. ‘He couldn’t have done that. He wasn’t even in the country.’
‘How do we know that?’ asked Ben. ‘No one knows exactly when Ossie was murdered. Anyway, they might not be connected.’
‘I bet they are,’ said Libby darkly.
After a lunch of whatever Libby could find in the kitchen, Ben went back to the Manor and Libby called Fran.
‘So I’ve got to do something,’ she concluded. ‘I can’t just sit back and do nothing.’
‘I notice you don’t say “we”,’ said Fran.
‘Well, you don’t want to get involved, do you? You more or less said you didn’t.’
‘Did I?’ said Fran slowly. ‘I’m not sure...’
Libby let the silence go on for a heartbeat. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I said, I’m not sure. Anyway, Ben could be right.’
‘Oh, I know,’ said Libby impatiently. ‘It looks so incriminating on the surface. But it can’t be!’
‘Libby, you’re letting sentiment get in the way. How well do you know Colin? And what about the reservations you had before you met him?’
Libby was silent.
‘All right,’ she said at last. ‘But that means I’ve got to find out for myself what happened. And you still haven’t said. What did you mean, you’re not sure?’
‘Well, I’m not.’ Fran paused. ‘I like Colin, too, and as far as I could tell, he was nothing to do with the chair I saw, or the boy. But that isn’t fact, as we know.’
‘Ian took notice of it, though.’
‘Ye-es, but it didn’t actually tell him anything. No, for once, I think you’re right. We need to have a look.’
Libby was so stupefied she was lost for words.
‘So where should we start?’ Fran went on. ‘Felling? That seems to be the beginning of it all, with that party. How can we find out about that?’
Libby found her voice. ‘John Newman, or possibly his wife, Emma. It was Emma who invited John to the party.’
‘Right. Shall we go and see them?’
Libby’s mouth opened and closed like a fish.
‘Come on, Lib! Say something!’
‘I can’t believe you’re being so – so – so proactive!’
Fran laughed. ‘Just because I actually think there’s something to look into,’ she said. ‘Come on, where do the Newmans live?’
‘In Felling, you know that – Ben has the address and phone number, but we can’ t just turn up. And I somehow doubt Emma would welcome us. She was fairly ill at ease when we all had dinner together.’
‘We have to do it by stealth, then.’ Fran was quiet for a moment. ‘Didn’t you say they’d had some work done by Ted Sachs?’
‘Yes, by him and the bloke he worked for at the time.’
‘So you could ask for a recommendation?’
‘But they know he did work for Fiona. And they know I know her. That would sound odd.’
‘Hmm. OK, where does she work? I assume she does work? She’s not one of the idle rich like you, is she?’
‘I’m not! I work – I paint pictures!’
‘Hmm,’ said Fran. ‘So, Emma?’
‘I don’t know. Under the circumstances, I can’t ask Colin.’
‘Why not? They haven’t clapped him in irons, have they?’
‘I don’t know. I don’t see how they can without any proper evidence.’
‘Then, as it’s Wednesday, you’ll be going to the pub and he’s staying there. Even if he doesn’t come down for a drink, you can go up and see him. And get any information you can out of him. Ian won’t go under the circumstances.’
‘No, that’s what he said himself,’ said Libby. ‘All right, I’ll try. But I wish you were going to be with me. Ben’ll get mad.’
‘OK. Let me work on Guy – I might be able to get him to come over on the promise of a drink. Then he can keep Ben company.’
So it was that, later that evening, Ben, Libby, Fran, and Guy all entered the pub. And found Patti and Anne already there, with Colin and Edward.
Colin sprang to his feet.
‘Oh, I’m so glad to see you!’ he said. ‘I wasn’t sure you’d come.’ He dropped his voice. ‘The police think I’m the murderer!’
Chapter Twenty Two
Libby took a deep breath and eased Colin back into his seat. Ben gave her a speaking look before he and Guy went to the bar for drinks.
‘Now,’ she said, ‘I take it you’ve filled everyone in on what the police said to you?’
There were murmurs of assent from the others round the table.
‘So now tell us,’ said Fran.
‘They think the body is that – that girl.’ Colin swallowed. Libby thought he looked frightened.
‘The singer?’ asked Fran.
Colin nodded. ‘And they know all about me being at that party.’
‘The one where she disappeared?’ said Libby.
‘Yes. They think I must have gone back after John brought me home.’
‘I don’t see i
t myself,’ said Edward. ‘Why would you? And why would she have come with you?’
‘Honestly – I’ve no idea.’ Colin shook his head. ‘But after all this time, how do I prove it?’
‘I don’t know,’ said Libby. ‘But Fran and I will try and help.’
‘Help? How?’
‘You don’t know them,’ said Edward with a grin.
‘They’ve got Miss Marple beat,’ agreed Anne.
‘You’re detectives?’ Colin gasped.
‘No, just nosy,’ said Patti, smiling at Libby. ‘But they get results.’
‘I don’t understand,’ said Colin.
At this point, Ben and Guy returned and between them the assembled company explained about Libby and Fran’s various adventures.
‘And that’s where your – er – moments come in?’ Colin asked Fran.
‘Sometimes.’ She nodded. ‘But mostly, as Patti says, it’s just us being nosy.’
‘We look at things the police don’t,’ said Libby. ‘For instance, what we’d like to do is go and talk to Emma Newman.’
‘Emma? Why?’
‘She was the one who asked John to the party. She knew a lot of the guests, didn’t she?’
‘I suppose so.’
‘So she would have noticed who the girl was talking to that evening?’
‘Yes. The trouble is, she was talking to me.’ Colin coloured. ‘She’ll tell the police.’
‘Was she?’ Fran frowned. ‘Why?’
‘She didn’t know me. She didn’t know...’ Colin trailed off.
‘Don’t worry about us,’ said Patti. ‘I may be a vicar, but you must have noticed that Anne and I are a couple.’
Colin stared at her with his mouth open.
‘So she was making a move on you?’ said Guy, who rarely contributed to this kind of conversation. Libby looked at him in surprise. Colin nodded.
‘Will she remember that?’ asked Ben. ‘As you said, it’s a long time ago.’
‘I should think everyone would remember that evening,’ said Libby. ‘They will have been questioned by the police at the time. That sort of thing rather fixes things in the memory.’
‘So we thought we might go and talk to her,’ said Fran. ‘If she’ll talk to us.’
‘Couldn’t you talk to John?’ asked Colin.
‘We will, but he didn’t know anyone at the party at the time, did he? He told us that. What would he know?’
‘I don’t know.’ Colin looked down into his drink.
Libby raised her eyebrows at Fran.
Ben leant towards Colin.
‘If you don’t want to talk about it, just say so, Colin. But honestly, they are only trying to help.’
Colin looked up. ‘Thank you,’ he said. ‘And I need all the help I can get. But I don’t know what you can do.’
‘Shall we leave it tonight, then?’ asked Libby. ‘I can come and talk to you tomorrow if you prefer.’ She looked round at the rest of the table. ‘On our own.’
Colin sat up a little straighter. ‘No. They all know about it, now.’ He shook his head. ‘I really don’t know what’s come over me. I’ve never talked about – well, me – in front of anyone before. Especially people I’ve only just met. And you’d think, under the circumstances, I’d be even more likely to keep myself to myself.’ He shook his head again. ‘I don’t get it.’
‘It’s circumstances that have done it,’ said Edward. ‘Unusual circumstances – and, of course, the effect of the Loonies.’
Patti and Anne went on to explain that Harry had dubbed their band of friends Libby’s Loonies.
‘But of course you’ve heard that before,’ said Libby.
‘Yes.’ Colin grinned. ‘I said I’d be flattered.’
‘There you are then,’ said Edward. ‘We will all bend our minds to the problem.’
Colin looked a little happier.
Now,’ said Fran, ‘have you been in touch with your solicitor?’
‘Yes, but they’re the Hardcastle Holdings solicitors – our registered offices in London. I don’t know if they’d be able to help.’
‘What did they say?’ asked Libby.
‘I had to leave a message,’ said Colin. ‘They haven’t come back to me.’
‘Then you need someone local,’ said Ben. He looked round the table. ‘Who do we know?’
‘The only one I can think of is that one in Nethergate, Robert Grimshaw,’ said Libby doubtfully.
‘Well, there’s the estate solicitor,’ said Ben. ‘I can ask him. They do criminal law.’
‘Criminal law!’ Colin lost his recent colour.
‘Well, that’s what it is,’ said Ben kindly. ‘Don’t take it personally.’
‘And tomorrow Fran and I will go to Felling and see if Emma will talk to us,’ said Libby. ‘Do you know where she works?’
Colin frowned. ‘I’m not sure. Part-time, I think. Maybe a shop?’
‘The thing is,’ said Libby, ‘we don’t want to ask John, because he might not want us to.’
‘Why not?’ asked Anne. ‘If it’s to help his friend.’
‘They know what they’re doing,’ said Patti, patting her friend’s arm. ‘It’s called tact.’
‘Not something my beloved is normally known for,’ said Ben, with a chuckle.
Libby sniffed.
‘Anyway,’ said Fran, ‘we find out what we can about the party and the girl – Shareen, was it? – and then we’ll think again. One thing we’re certain of is that you couldn’t have had anything to do with the death of the boy.’
‘Well, no.’ Colin looked surprised. ‘They didn’t ask me anything about that. Are they connected?’
‘They must be!’ said several voices together.
‘Or are you just going for the obvious?’ said Guy.
Everyone looked at him.
‘They might not be,’ he said reasonably. ‘There are – what? Twenty years between them?’
‘That’s true,’ said Libby. ‘And whether they are or they aren’t, we just concentrate on the death of the girl. Shame we can’t find out more about her background.’
‘What about the old reporter you said Jane mentioned?’ suggested Ben.
‘I’ll ask her tomorrow. She said she’d try and find out if he was still around.’ Libby smiled round. ‘Now let’s try and cheer Colin up.’
Not at all sure that they had cheered Colin up, the following morning, Libby called Jane.
‘Hello! Got me in the office for a change,’ said Jane. ‘You still on the search about that girl singer? Guess you are, as her body’s turned up.’
‘Oh, have they confirmed it, then?’ asked Libby. ‘They hadn’t yesterday.’
‘Apparently. It came through on the wire earlier,’ said Jane. ‘No details, just the plain fact.’
‘Oh, well, in that case Fran and I had better get on with it then.’
‘Get on with what?’
‘Looking into it,’ said Libby. ‘Did you find that old reporter?’
‘Barrett? Yes, I did. And if you want to speak to him I’d do it fast. He’ll be getting on to the police any minute I would think. It was his pet subject.’
‘Yes, you said he was very interested. Where is he?’
‘You’ll never guess! Felling!’
When Libby had duly expressed surprise and taken down his address and phone number, she called Fran.
‘So what do we do? Emma first, or this Barrett?’
‘Barrett, before the police descend on him,’ said Fran. ‘I’ll meet you at that tea shop in the square. We can phone him from there.’
Libby phoned Colin, but his phone went straight to voicemail. She then phoned Ben, who said he’d been in touch with the solicitors, who had arranged to see Colin that morning.
‘I expect that’s why his phone is off,’ said Libby. ‘OK, we’re heading off to Felling, now. I’ll keep you posted.’
Libby drove to Felling, pleased to see that the verges along the roadside had been left to devel
op into mini-meadows. The sun was shining, and if it wasn’t for Colin’s predicament, she would have felt that all was right with the world. But try as she might, she couldn’t get rid of the feeling that the odds were stacked against him, and to wonder, treacherously, if they had all been taken in by him.
‘But,’ she reasoned to herself, ‘why do we all feel the same way? Only Guy was doubtful. The rest of us all took him at face value.’
By the time she reached the car park in Felling, the sun had gone in and she felt even more unsure.
Fran was already waiting in the Tea Square, a pot of tea in front of her.
‘You don’t look very happy,’ she said. ‘I thought you’d be all fired up and raring to go.’
‘I was,’ said Libby, sitting down and pulling the pot towards her. ‘I was just wondering why we’re all so sure Colin’s innocent.’
Fran’s eyes widened. ‘Where did that come from?’
‘Well.’ Libby carefully poured tea. ‘After being so suspicious of him before we met him, when we couldn’t find him, we all just accepted the fact that he wasn’t guilty of anything. Why?’
‘He wasn’t guilty of the boy’s death,’ said Fran.
‘No, but does it follow that he isn’t guilty of this one?’
Fran put her head on one side. ‘You’ve changed your tune.’
Libby sighed. ‘I know, but I realised I was just barging ahead assuming that I was right.’
‘But everyone feels the same,’ said Fran.
‘I know, that’s what set me thinking. Did I do that? Set everyone on the wrong track?’
‘No,’ said Fran. ‘Colin has been introduced to everyone, who accepted him without bias. You haven’t said anything. He comes across as a little bit nervy, not sure that he’ll be accepted, and appears to be delighted that he has been. Something obviously happened to him to put him off Kent – Steeple Martin and Felling in particular – but I don’t see how he could have killed that girl without John Newman helping him with the body. So it isn’t that.’
Libby heaved a sigh. ‘I agree. I’m just doubting myself more than Colin. And I like him. I didn’t think I would, but I do.’
‘In that case, let’s get on with it.’ Fran took out her phone. ‘ Have you got the reporter’s name and number?’
Murder Repeated Page 15
